The fundamental health of the advertising ecosystem hinges on a single, non-negotiable asset: trust. That was the powerful message delivered by Gail Schimmel, CEO of the Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) of South Africa, during a critical session at the just-ended Audience and Advertising (A&A) Summit 2025 in Johannesburg.
Schimmel argued that if consumer trust in advertising claims collapses, the entire industry—from agencies to media owners—will suffer an existential crisis. “If advertising is not trusted, it won’t work,” she stated. “And ultimately, no one will purchase advertising space, leading to a massive problem for the media industry.”
The core of Schimmel’s address was the ARB’s unwavering defence of self-regulation as the superior model to government legislation. She framed self-regulation as the industry proactively setting its own ethical rules and committing to them, effectively telling the government, “We don’t need you to tell us what to do.”
This cooperative, industry-led approach is crucial to avoiding the alternative: punitive governmental intervention. Schimmel noted the industry’s collective fear of a Competition Commission-like entity imposing penalties that could amount to 10% of a company’s turnover for an advertising mistake—a risk that self-regulation is designed to mitigate.
For self-regulation to be taken seriously, Schimmel stressed that strong enforcement is non-negotiable. The system works because the Code of Advertising Practice binds licensed broadcasters and ARB members. She highlighted the critical role of broadcasters: “If we didn’t have broadcasters pulling ads when we ruled against them, we would not work.”
Much of the discussion centred on the rapidly growing domain of influencer marketing and the paramount importance of disclosure. Schimmel was emphatic: an influencer must use the hashtag #ad if they have been paid for the content in any way, shape, or form.
“If a person knows the influencers they follow routinely post paid content without revealing it, they will eventually stop trusting what that person is saying and ultimately stop following them,” Schimmel explained. “Using the #ad hashtag, the influencer signals to their audience that they operate within a trusted communication space.”
When a rule is broken, the ARB holds the brand owner primarily accountable. The brand owner has contractual control over the influencer and ultimately benefits from the sale.
However, Schimmel made it clear that the influencer is not immune. A ruling against a specific post includes the influencer’s name, directly impacting their reputation and commercial viability. Therefore, adherence to the rules is a shared duty between the brand and the influencer.
In closing, Schimmel touched on the complex challenge of regulating categories such as alcohol advertising. She noted that a complete ban on such advertising could unintentionally lead to the cessation of responsible messaging, such as that from organisations like aware.org, which are vital for maintaining the industry’s privilege to advertise responsibly in the first place.
The overarching message remains: protecting trust is the industry’s greatest collaborative task.
Please click on the link here to view highlights from Ms Schimmel’s session.
